Category: Twins Minor League Player of the Week

Twins minor league players of the week – Alex Kirilloff & Kohl Stewart

The Twins have named High-A Ft. Myers Miracle outfielder Alex Kirilloff and AAA Rochester Red Wings right-handed pitcher Kohl Stewart minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Alex Kirilloff

Kirilloff, the Twins 2016 first round pick (15th overall) who was in last week’s SiriusXM Future’s Game, played in five games for the Miracle, hitting .545 (12-for-22) with three doubles, one triple, one home run and six RBI. Kirilloff who won’t turn 21 until this November started the season in Cedar Rapids but after hitting .333 with 13 home runs and 56 RBI in 65 games was moved up to Ft. Myers and he has found the Florida State League to his liking. In 29 games he is hitting .370 with 3 home runs and 22 RBI in just 29 games. I would not be surprised to see him get a taste of AA ball at Chattanooga before the 2018 season winds down. A pretty impressive season for Kirilloff after sitting out all of 2017.

Kohl Stewart

Stewart, another first round pick and fourth overall in 2013 made two starts for the Red Wings, going 0-2, 1.50 ERA (12.0 IP, 2 ER) with four walks and 10 strikeouts. Stewart has been a bit of a disappointment so far in the sense that everyone expected more out of this right-hander since he was the fourth overall selection but we need to keep in mind that he is just 23 years of age. Stewart turned down a football and baseball scholarship at Texas A&M University to sign with the Twins.

The minor league report below has an article on the Twins experimenting with “Bullpenning”.

Twins Minor League Report 072318

Twins minor league players of the week – Zander Wiel & Bailey Ober

The Twins have named AA Chattanooga Lookouts outfielder/first baseman Zander Wiel and Low-A Cedar Rapids Kernels right-handed pitcher Bailey Ober minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Zander Wiel

Zander Wiel played in seven games for the Lookouts, hitting .333 (8-for-24) with one double, two triples, one home run, three RBI, five walks and a .448 OBP. Wiel is in his fourth season of pro ball and has jumped up a league each season. Although he has not shown the power this year as he has in the past, he is hitting .306 which is way above his career average of .264. 

Wiel rolls on with Lookouts 

Bailey Ober

We don’t get many back-to-back winners but this week we have one. Bailey Ober, who also won this award last week, made one start for the Kernels, coming on Thursday (which was his 23rd birthday) vs. Ft. Wayne, pitching 6.2 shutout innings with five hits allowed, one walk and 10 strikeouts. 

 

 Twins Minor League Report 071518.pdf

There is a story in the Twins minor league report about Royce Lewis getting promoted to Ft. Myers.

Twins minor league players of the week – LaMonte Wade & Bailey Ober

The Twins have named AAA Rochester Red Wings outfielder LaMonte Wade and Low-A Cedar Rapids Kernels right-handed pitcher Bailey Ober minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

LaMonte Wade

Wade played in six games for the Red Wings, hitting .391 (9-for-23) with two triples, two home runs, four RBI, two walks and a .440 on-base percentage. Wade started the season in Chattanooga where he hit .298 with 7 home runs, 27 RBI and 5 stolen bases in 171 PA’s. I should also note that he had 26 walks as compared to 20 strikeouts, a rare plus now days. So far in Rochester Wade is hitting .261 with 3 homers and 11 RBI in 109 PA’s and his walks still outnumber his KO’s. The 24-year old Wade is in his fourth season of pro ball and was a ninth round selection by the Twins in the 2015 June draft from the University of Maryland.  

Bailey Ober

Ober made one start for the Kernels, coming on Thursday vs. Wisconsin, allowing one run on three hits in 7.0 innings pitched with no walks and 12 strikeouts, earning the win. The soon to be (July 12) 24-year old right-handed Ober has spent all season in Cedar Rapids and has a 5-1 record with a 4.87 era in 11 starts. The 6’8″ 215 pound Ober has 64 strikeouts in 57.1 innings but he has also given up 60 hits. The Twins 12th round selection in 2017 from the College of Charleston already has a Tommy John surgery on his resume that caused him to miss the 2015 season while in Charleston.

 

Sean Miller

MLB announced on July 7 that  third baseman Sean Miller of the Minnesota Twins has been suspended for 50 games under baseball’s minor league drug program following second positive tests for drugs of abuse. Miller 23, was a 10th-round draft pick in 2015 and is on the roster of Chattanooga of the Double-A Southern League, where he is hitting .220
with one homer and eight RBIs in 150 at-bats. He started the season at Double-A, and batted .091 with one RBI in 10 games with Triple-A Rochester of the Triple-A International League, then was sent back down in late May.

 

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Twins minor league players of the week – Caleb Hamilton & Bryan Sammons

The Twins have named High-A Ft. Myers Miracle infielder Caleb Hamilton and Low-A Cedar Rapids Kernels left-handed pitcher Bryan Sammons minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Caleb Hamilton

The 23-year-old Hamilton played in four games for the Miracle, hitting .462 (6-for-13) with two doubles, three home runs, eight RBI and five runs scored. Hamilton was the Twins 23rd round pick out of Oregon State University in 2016 and was selected as a shortstop. The Twins turned Hamilton into a catcher in 2017 and that is now his primary position although you can also find him at third base and first base. Last year he caught, pitched an inning and played every position but center and right field. In 185 career games Hamilton has a .211 batting average.

Bryan Sammons

The 6’4″ lefty Sammons made one start for the Kernels on Monday against Beloit, pitching 8.0 shutout innings with five hits allowed, one walk and five strikeouts. The 23-year-old Sammons attended Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.  In 12 starts this season Sammons is 4-4 with a 2.69 ERA and has allowed just 56 hits in 67 innings while striking out 58 batters. Sammons gave up 5 earned runs in his first start of the season but has given up 3 or less in every star since. Sammons was an eighth round Twins selection in 2017 and signed for a reported $10,000. Looks like the Twins might have gotten a bargain here.

 

Twins Minor League Report 063018

Twins minor league players of the week – Luis Arraez & Lewis Thorpe

The Twins have named High-A Ft. Myers infielder Luis Arraez and AA Chattanooga
left-handed pitcher Lewis Thorpe minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Luis Arraez

The 21-year-old Arraez played five games for the Miracle, hitting .542 (13-for-24) with one double, one home run, four RBI and had a five-hit game on Friday at Bradenton. For the season he is hitting .307 with a .359 OBP and has played primarily at second but has also put in time at third and shortstop. In his five seasons of pro ball Arraez has never hit below .300 and has a .332 career average. Arraez was out most of 2017 with a torn ACL. Arraez was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent in 2013 from San Felipe, Venezuela.

Lewis Thorpe

Thorpe made the start on Thursday vs. Biloxi, pitching 7.0 shutout innings with one hit allowed, one walk and 12 strikeouts. Thorpe was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2012 out of Melbourne, Australia. Here is what FanGraphs has to say about Thorpe :

Thorpe had real prospect status following the 2014 season, when he turned in a solid 71.2 innings in Low-A at age 18. He then missed all of the 2015 and 2016 seasons with Tommy John surgery and mono during his rehab from the surgery. He returned last year and mostly picked up where he left off, reaching Double-A at age 21, which is where he was assigned to start 2018. His stuff has always been around average, but it was a little above before and now it’s more fringy with a good slider.

 

Twins Minor League Report 062418.pdf

Twins minor league players of the week – Robby Rinn and Jordan Balazovic

The Twins have named Single-A Cedar Rapids first baseman Robby Rinn and Single-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Jordan Balazovic as Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Robby Rinn

In four games for the Kernels, Robby Rinn hit .556 (10-for-18) with two doubles, one home run, three RBI and scored five runs. Rinn, now 25 was drafted by Kansas City in the 25th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft and was acquired via trade this past May in exchange for cash.

Jordan Balazovic

Jordan Balazovic, 19,  who was recently assigned to Cedar Rapids made one start for the week, coming Monday at Wisconsin, allowing one run on three hits in 7.0 innings pitched and 11 strikeouts. The 6’4″ Oakville, Ontario native is a right-hander and was drafted by the Twins in the fifth round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft and signed for a reported $515,000. Twins Daily did a nice piece on Balazovic that is worth checking out.

 

Twins Minor League Report 061718.pdf

Twins minor league players of the week – Brent Rooker & Tyler Wells

The Twins have named Chattanooga Lookouts (AA) outfielder Brent Rooker and Ft. Myers Miracle (High A) right-handed pitcher Tyler Wells as Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

In six games for the Lookouts, Rooker hit .450 (9-for-20) with one double, one triple, one home run, six RBI, eight walks and a .586 on-base percentage. The former Mississippi State Bulldog was drafted by the Twins in the Competitive Balance Round A (35th overall) last season.

Brent Rooker

This season in Chattanooga, Rooker has played in 58 out of their 62 games and is hitting .269 in 250 plate appearances with 8 home runs, 36 RBI with a .791 OPS. Rooker has struck out 68 times. Although he has appeared as a corner outfielder a handful of times this season, his primary position appears to be first base.

Rooker is also an impressive athlete, and he was a three-sport star at Evangelical Christian School in Germantown, Tennessee. Rooker hit .430 with nine home runs as a senior. He also led his high school to the Division 2-A State Championship Game in football, collecting 3,300 yards of total offense with 33 touchdowns, and he was named a 2013 Tennessee Mr. Football finalist after setting 18 school records. He also played basketball.

Tyler Wells

Wells made one start for the Miracle last week, allowing one run on two hits in 8.0 innings pitched with one walk and seven strikeouts, earning his fourth win (4-3). The University of Cal-Berkeley alum was drafted by the Twins in the 15th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft.

This season the 6’8″ Wells has nine starts for the Miracle and has a 2.86 ERA and a 0.932 WHIP primarily because he has given up just 31 hits in 44 innings. During his short pro career, the right-handed Wells has always allowed fewer hits than innings pitched when you look at his yearly numbers. 

 

Twins Minor League Report 061018.pdf

Twins minor league players of the week – Jose Miranda & Omar Bencomo

The Twins have named Low A Cedar Rapids infielder Jose Miranda and AA Chattanooga
right-handed pitcher Omar Bencomo as Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Jose Miranda

In eight games for the Kernels, Miranda hit .414 (12-for-29) with four doubles, one home run and nine RBI. The Manati, Puerto Rico native was drafted by the Twins in the second round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft. The soon to be 20-year-old Miranda is a right-handed batter and is in his third season of pro ball. This season Miranda is playing second base and third base.

According to a 2016 Rhett Bollinger article, Miranda, who was selected from Leadership Christian Academy with the 2016 number 73 overall pick in Lottery Round B, projects to be a power-hitting third baseman. The Twins saved slot money by signing him for $775,000, as the pick had a value of $878,500.

Omar Bencomo

The 29-year-old right-handed Bencomo made two starts, one for the Lookouts and one for the Red Wings, going 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA (13.0 IP, 1 ER) with five hits allowed, two walks and 11 strikeouts.

The Valencia, Venezuela native first started playing pro ball in 2007 and signed with the Twins as a minor league free agent on January 19, 2018. Bencomo has been used both as a starter and a reliever over the years but he has been a starter for Chattanooga and Rochester since the end of April. Bencomo was promoted to Rochester on May 30th.

 

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Twins minor league players of the week – Ben Rortvedt & Sean Poppen

Ben Rortvedt

The Minnesota Twins have named Low A Cedar Rapids Kernels catcher Ben Rortvedt and High A Ft. Myers Miracle right-handed pitcher Sean Poppen as Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

In six games for the Kernels, the left-handed hitting Rortvedt hit .391 (9-for-23) with one triple, two RBI, two runs scored, one stolen base and four strikeouts. The 20-year old Rortvedt is repeating Cedar Rapids this season and is hitting .270 as compared to .224 last year.  His caught stealing percentage has also improved from 38% to 44% this year. He could be moving up to Ft. Myers soon.

The Verona, WI native is in his third season of pro ball after being drafted by the Twins in the second round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Verona High School and signed for a reported $900,000 signing bonus.

Sean Poppen

Sean Poppen made one start for the Miracle on Tuesday allowing one run on five hits in 7.0 innings pitched (ND) with seven strikeouts versus Bradenton. The 6’3″ right-hander is in his third year of pro ball and has been used almost exclusively as a starter. In his three seasons-to-date he has a 13-10 record with a 2.95 ERA and has given up 208 hits in 226 innings while striking out 223 batters.

The Virginia native was drafted by the Twins in the 19th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Harvard.

Chesapeake’s Sean Poppen – from Harvard to minor-league baseball

 

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Twins minor league players of the week – Brent Rooker & Brusdar Graterol

The Twins have named Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts outfielder Brent Rooker and Single-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Brusdar Graterol Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Rooker

In seven games, the 23-year-old Rooker hit .290 going 9 for 31 with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, six runs scored and a .303 on-base percentage. It appears that the Twins are turning the right-handed hitting/throwing Rooker into a first baseman/DH after drafting him as an outfielder. In 39 games this season for Chattanooga he has played 21 games at first, 12 games as a DH and just 6 games if left field. We might just be looking at the Twins next first baseman. Rooker, who Baseball America has rated as the Twins seventh best prospect  is off to a slow start at Chattanooga this season just hitting .235 with a .270 OBP with just 4 home runs in 163 PA’s. The former Mississippi State outfielder was selected 35th overall in last year’s draft in Compensation Round A.

Graterol

Graterol made one start this week for the low-A Kernels, pitching 5.2 shutout innings with two hits allowed, one walk and 10 strikeouts versus Quad Cities earning his first win of the season. Graterol threw 76 pitches, 55 for strikes. In 14.1 innings this year he has allowed just 8 hits, one walk and struck out 21 batters and has a 0.63 ERA. WOW! The right-hander is just 19 and was signed by the Twins for $150,000 on August 29, 2014 from Calabozo, Venezuela as part if their 2014 International signing group.

Graterol pitched in just four games in 2015 before tearing his UCL and under-going Tommy John surgery causing his to miss almost two seasons of baseball. Prior to this season Graterol has pitched just 51 innings of pro ball. Entering this season, Baseball America named Graterol the fourth best prospect in the Twins system. 

The Twins pitching prospect you didn’t know you wanted

Twins Minor League Report 052018